Concorde takes off - Jan 21, 1976 - HISTORY.com Concorde takes off Publisher A+E Networks From London’s Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris, the first Concordes with commercial passengers simultaneously take flight on January 21, 1976. The London flight was headed to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, and the Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Senegal in West Africa. At their cruising speeds, the innovative Concordes flew well over the sound barrier at 1,350 miles an hour, cutting air travel time by more than half. The flights were the culmination of a 12-year effort that pitted English and French engineers against their counterparts in the USSR. In 1962, 15 years after U.S. pilot Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier, Britain and France signed a treaty to develop the world’s first supersonic passenger airline. The next year, President John F. Kennedy proposed a similar U.S. project. Meanwhile, in the USSR, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ordered his top aviation engineers to beat the West to the achievement. There were immense technical challenges in building a supersonic airliner.

Engines would need to be twice as powerful as those built for normal jets, and the aircraft’s frame would have to withstand immense pressure from shock waves and endure high temperatures caused by air friction. In the United States, Boeing tackled the supersonic project but soon ran into trouble with its swing-wing design. In England and France, however, early results were much more promising, and Khrushchev ordered Soviet intelligence to find out as much as possible about the Anglo-French prototypes. In 1965, the French arrested Sergei Pavlov, head of the Paris office of the Soviet airliner Aeroflot, for illegally obtaining classified information about France’s supersonic project. Another high-level Soviet spy remained unknown, however, and continued to feed the Soviets information about the Concorde until his arrest in 1977. On December 31, 1968, just three months before the first scheduled flight of the Concorde prototype, the fruits of Soviet industrial espionage were revealed when the Soviet’s TU-144 became the world’s first supersonic airliner to fly.

The aircraft looked so much like the Concorde that the Western press dubbed it “Konkordski.” In 1969, the Concorde began its test flights. Two years later, the United States abandoned its supersonic program, citing budget and environmental concerns. It was now up to Western Europe to make supersonic airline service viable before the Soviets. Tests continued, and in 1973 the TU-144 came to the West to appear alongside the Concorde at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport. On June 3, in front of 200,000 spectators, the Concorde flew a flawless demonstration. Then it was the TU-144’s turn. The aircraft made a successful 360-degree turn and then began a steep ascent. Abruptly, it leveled off and began a sharp descent. Some 1,500 feet above the ground, it broke up from overstress and came crashing into the ground, killing all six Soviet crew members and eight French civilians. Soviet and French investigators ruled that pilot error was the cause of the accident.

However, in recent years, several of the Russian investigators have disclosed that a French Mirage intelligence aircraft was photographing the TU-144 from above during the flight. A French investigator confirmed that the Soviet pilot was not told that the Mirage was there, a breach of air regulations. After beginning his ascent, the pilot may have abruptly leveled off the TU-144 for fear of crashing into this aircraft. In the sudden evasive maneuver, the thrust probably failed, and the pilot then tried to restart the engines by entering a dive. He was too close to the ground, however, and tried to pull up too soon, thus overstressing the aircraft. In exchange for Soviet cooperation in the cover-up, the French investigators agreed not to criticize the TU-144’s design or engineering. Nevertheless, further problems with the TU-144, which was designed hastily in its bid to beat the Concorde into the air, delayed the beginning of Soviet commercial service. Concorde passenger service began with much fanfare in January 1976. Western Europe had won its supersonic race with the Soviets, who eventually allowed just 100 domestic flights with the TU-144 before discontinuing the airliner.

The Concorde was not a great commercial success, however, and people complained bitterly about the noise pollution caused by its sonic booms and loud engines. Most airlines declined to purchase the aircraft, and just 16 Concordes were built for British Airways and Air France. Service was eventually limited between London and New York and Paris and New York, and luxury travelers appreciated the less than four-hour journey across the Atlantic. On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed 60 seconds after taking off from Paris en route to New York. All 109 people aboard and four on the ground were killed. The accident was caused by a burst tire that ruptured a fuel tank, creating a fire that led to engine failure. The fatal accident–the first in Concorde’s history–signaled the decline of the aircraft. On October 24, 2003, the Concorde took its last regular commercial flight. Related Videos Jan. 21, 1976: Concorde jet makes first commercial flight Jan.

21, 1976: Concorde jet makes first commercial flight Kelly O'Mara Pin it Share The supersonic Concorde jet was only in passenger service for 27 years after its first commercial flight on Jan. 21, 1976, but it left quite a mark on travelers – especially those who now long for a more luxurious flying experience. Flights on that first day took passengers from London Heathrow to Bahrain and from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. For travelers, the appeal of the Concorde was that flights were frequently only one-third as long as on regular planes. The jets would dart back and forth across the Atlantic, to Mexico and Latin America, and from Europe to Asia. The fastest-ever crossing from New York to London was completed in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. That’s barely enough time to even watch a movie. But wealthy tourists had to pay for that convenience. Tickets were typically five times as much as regular tickets on 747s. By the time the Concorde shut down in 2003, tickets from New York to Europe cost just under $10,000.

Only 20 Concorde aircrafts were manufactured after the British and French governments joined together to develop the plane in the 1960s. Although commercial flights began in 1976, they were banned in the U.S. over noise complaints. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that the jets couldn’t be banned and American-European flights began in 1977. The airline industry suffered economically in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The appeal of the Concorde also dropped after an Air France crash in Paris in 2000. These hits prompted both Air France and British Airways to retire the jets in 2003.

Reblog The Concorde, world's first supersonic passenger jet Total Height (ground to top of tail) 37 feet 24 inches Length 204 feet 6 inches Cabin Width 8 feet 7 inches Cabin Length 129 feet Flight Crew 2 pilots, 1 flight engineer Cabin Crew 9 flight attendants Empty Weight 203,000 pounds Maximum Take-Off Weight 408,000 pounds Engines 4 Rolls-Royce-Snecma Olympus 593 Mark 610 Turbojets Total Engine Thrust 38,050 pounds Fuel Capacity 26,400 gallons Take-Off Speed 201 miles per hour Landing Speed 187 miles per hour Cruising Speed ~1,350 mph (twice the speed of sound) Maximum Cruising Altitude 60,000 feet (~11 miles) Range ~4,500 miles Average Duration of Transatlantic Flight 3 hours 30 minutes (compared to 7-8 hours for other commercial jet aircraft) Record Flight 2 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds (flown on February 7,

 1996, by Captain Leslie Scott and crew) History In June of 1962, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and French President Charles de Gaulle reached an agreement wherein the two nations would work together to develop a supersonic passenger jet within eight years, with each nation contributing $28 million a year to the project.

British research was done by British Aircraft Corporation, and French research by Aï¿½rospatiale; both companies were owned by their respective nations. The hope of both nations was that once the plane was developed sales to airlines would more than cover the costs of development. The first experimental plane flew on March 2, 1969, and the first supersonic flight took place on October 1, 1969; both were highly successful. The plane was ready for service by 1972, but no airlines were willing to buy an aircraft that was so expensive to operate. With a maximum capacity of only 100 passengers (compared to over 200 for a Boeing 747) and fuel consumption rate of 5,638 gallons per hour, airline operators knew they would have to charge exorbitant fares compared to subsonic flights in order to break even; each plane would have to fly at full capacity on every single flight if the airline hoped to make any profit.

Eventually the French and British governments both agreed to subsidize the purchases of Concordes by their respective state-owned airlines -- Air France and British Airways, respectively; each airline purchased 7 Concordes, and once those 14 planes went into service no other Concordes were ever built. The first commercial Concorde flights took off on January 21, 1976 -- a British Airways London-to-Bahrain flight and an Air France flight from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. Flights from London and Paris to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., began on May 24, 1976, and flights to New York City began November 22, 1977. Both airlines continued to operate transatlantic flights aboard Concordes for the next 25 years, as well as short-lived regular flights to other destinations; in addition to regularly scheduled flights, the Concorde was also available for chartered flights, and by the time the aircraft was retired it had visited over 150 different airports around the world.

On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed soon after take-off in Gonesse, France, killing all 100 passengers and 12 crew members aboard and 4 people on the ground. The investigation into the first (and only) Concorde crash took a yaer, during which time both British Airways and Air France kept their Concorde fleets grounded. The investigation ultimately determined that the crash was caused when the Concorde ran over a strip of titanium that had been dropped on the runway by another plane. The metal shredded one of the Concorde's tires, and debris from the tire hit the underside of the wing, causing a massive shockwave inside the full fuel tank that damaged a fuel valve. A loss in fuel pressure caused two engines to fail, and the pilot was unable to gain altitude, causing the plane to literally "fall from the sky." Although no fault with any Concorde system was found, it took time for passengers to feel confident enough to begin buying tickets again. Revenue lost while the Concordes were grounded proved all but impossible to recover, and both airlines began talking about selling off their fleets.

No buyers could be found, however, as the Concordes were by now in need of cockpit and other upgrades that would have added millions of dollars to their cost. The last scheduled flight of a Concorde came on November 26, 2003, from London Heathrow Airport to Bristol (England) Airport. Concorde: 40 fascinating facts - Telegraph Concorde: 40 fascinating facts Enlarge Picture: British Airways A joint venture between the British and French governments, Concorde redefined what it was to fly when its first commercial flight took off 40 years ago today. To celebrate the momentous occasion, here are 40 intriguing facts about the supersonic aircraft. 1. Concorde’s first successfully completed supersonic flight took place on October 1, 1969, but it wasn’t until January 21, 1976, that the first commercial flights took place. On that day a British Airways Concorde flight flew from London to Bahrain and an Air France Concorde flight flew from Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar. 2.

A one-way fare on the inaugural flight from London to Bahrain cost £356; at the time flying the route in a conventional first-class service cost £309.50. 3. The aircraft seated 100 passengers: 40 in the front cabin and 60 in the rear cabin. 4. Flights accommodated a crew of nine: two pilots, one flight engineer and a cabin crew of six. 5. The aircraft was subjected to 5,000 hours of testing before it was first certified for passenger flight, making it the most tested aircraft ever 6. The first Concorde flight to America was to Dallas Forth Worth on September 20, 1973. 7. The quintessential Concorde route, between London and New York, was inaugurated on November 22, 1977. 8. A typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three and a half hours as opposed to about eight hours for a subsonic flight 9. Concorde still holds the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a civil aircraft.

The quickest Concorde flight from New York to London, on February 7 1996, took just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. 10. Concorde fares between London and New York cost over £1,000 by the 1980s, but canny passengers could save hundreds of pounds by flying the route as a courier and personally delivering sensitive cargo between the two destinations. 11. Concorde had a take-off speed of 220 knots (250mph) and a cruising speed of 1350mph – more than twice the speed of sound. Its landing speed was 187mph. 12. The first round-the-world flight by a BA Concorde took place on November 8, 1986. The aircraft covered 28,238 miles in 29 hours 59 minutes. 13. Concorde could fly up to 60,000ft, a height of over 11 miles. From there, at the edge of space in the layers between the stratosphere and the ionosphere it was possible for passengers to see the curvature of the Earth.

14. Due to the intense heat of the airframe, Concorde could stretch anywhere from six to 10 inches during flight. Every surface, even the windows, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight. 15. Concorde was painted in a specially developed white paint to accommodate these changes in temperature and to dissipate the heat generated by supersonic flight. 16. The plane had a fuel capacity of 26,286 Imperial gallons (119,500 litres) and consumed 5,638 Imperial gallons (25,629 litres) per hour. 17. The aircraft had a range of 4,143 miles (6,667 kms). 18. Though they spent little time on board, Concorde passengers could expect to be generously fed. The menu on British Airways’ first commercial flight included Dom Perignon 1969 champagne, caviar and lobster canapes, grilled fillet steak, palm heart salad with Roquefort dressing and fresh strawberries with double cream. In another sign of the times, customers were also offered Havana cigars. 19. Only 14 different Concorde aircraft ever flew commercially.

20. Concorde didn’t just transport passengers and their luggage. It was sometimes used to transport human organs, diamonds and currency. 21. James Callaghan was the first British prime minister to travel at supersonic speeds when he flew by Concorde to see President Carter in Washington to negotiate landing rights for the aircraft in the US. 22. Concorde was also popular with the Queen and celebrities. Joan Collins travelled with the aircraft so frequently that she became something of an ambassador for the service. Other notable passengers included Elton John, Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and Sean Connery. 23. Diana Ross was arrested before boarding Concorde, for assaulting a security officer who had attempted to search her. 24. Phil Collins famously used Concorde to perform at Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. 25. Concorde made just under 50,000 flights during its lifespan. 26. Concorde was also chartered for private group tours. The first, from Heathrow to Nice for the Monaco Grand Prix, departed on May 15, 1983. 27.

Some 2.5 million passengers flew supersonically with Concorde. 28. Concorde's oldest passenger was Eva Woodman, from Bristol. She was aged 105 during her flight from Filton over the Bay of Biscay in 1998. 29. Plans to enhance Concorde’s interiors were scuppered when the aircraft was withdrawn from service. Sir Terence Conran had been enlisted to revitalise the décor in 2001 and had planned lighting features that would turn a cool blue when Concorde flew through the sound barrier at Mach 1. The proposal was never realised. 30. During the design process that preceded the development of Concorde, the aircraft manufacturing company Handley Page Limited suggested seating passengers within compartments in the plane’s wings. 31. A planned route from London to Singapore via Bahrain, operated in conjunction with Singapore Airlines, was cancelled after just three return flights due to complains about noise disturbances caused by the aircraft’s sonic boom. 32. Concorde was impeded from flying over Saudi Arabian airspace as it was felt that noise from the aircraft would disturb camel breeding. 33.

The most disastrous day in Concorde’s history was on July 25, 2000. A flight departing from Paris ran over a piece of titanium that had fallen from another aircraft. It burst the tire and resulted in the fuel tank igniting. The plane crashed killing all on board. 34. Though it has fallen from public consciousness, Russia’s TU-144 supersonic aircraft commenced service before Concorde. It made its maiden flight on December 31, 1968, two months before Concorde, and went into service delivering cargo the following year. It first flew passengers in 1977 and after crashing twice was withdrawn from commercial service in 1985. 35. During its time in service, Concorde’s profitability figures weren’t released by BA but it is understood that the service wasn’t a profitable enterprise. Fuel costs were significant and other incidents, such as the Paris crash, caused consumers to lose confidence in the aircraft. After the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001, passenger rates fell to less than 50 per cent. 36.

Concorde’s last commercial flight was from New York to Heathrow on October 24, 2003. 37. By the time flights finished, Concorde was the last BA aircraft that had a flight engineers as part of the crew. 38. Concorde can still be seen at the following sites: Museum of Flight, East Fortune, near Edinburgh (Alpha Alpha); Heathrow Airport (Alpha Bravo), Aviation viewing park, Manchester Airport (Alpha Charlie), The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York (Alpha Delta); Grantley Adams Airport, Bridgetown, Barbados (Alpha Echo); Airbus UK, Filton, Bristol (Alpha Foxtrot); The Museum of Flight, Seattle (Alpha Golf). An eighth Concorde (Delta Golf), owned by British Airways but never operated commercially, was the final test aircraft. It can be seen at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Concorde Facts and Figures Tuesday, 25 July, 2000, 15:55 GMT 16:55 UK Concorde Facts and Figures Concorde: Pride of the Air France fleet Concorde remains the world's only supersonic passenger aircraft. It operates daily out of London Heathrow and Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to North America. It cruises at around 1350 mph at an altitude of up to 60,000ft (11 miles). A crossing from Europe to New York takes less than three and a half hours - less than half the normal flying time for other jets. The record crossing stands at 2hrs 52mins 59secs. Travelling westwards the five-hour timed difference means Concorde lands before local arrival time catches up with the local departure time. History of the aircraft Concorde was born out of separate French and British projects which joined forces in 1962.

Concorde facts Range: 4,300 miles (6,880 kms) Speed: Mach Two (2,150kph) The partnership led to the British Aircraft Corporation (later British Aerospace) and Aerospatiale of France to build 20 Concordes. The first prototype plane (001) was rolled out of its hangar at Toulouse in France in 1967. Its first flight took place on 2 March 1969 from Toulouse. 1969: The first flight of Concorde 002 took place from Filton, near Bristol in the UK, on 9 April 1969. 1969: Concorde successfully completed its first supersonic flight on 1 October. 1973: Concorde 002 lands at Dallas/Ft Worth on its first visit to the USA. 1974: The aircraft completes its first double transatlantic journey in one day on 17 June. During this period the aircraft was subjected to 5,000 hours of testing by the time it was ready for passenger service.

The first commercial flights took place on 21 January 1976 when British Airways flew from London Heathrow to Bahrain and Air France from Paris to Rio. Transatlantic flights began later than year. Specifications Four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines provide more than 38,000lbs of thrust each. They are some of the most powerful commercial jet engines in existence and provide a take off speed of 220 knots. Concorde is 62.1 metres long and consumes 5,638 imperial gallons of fuel every hour. Its maximum take-off weight is 185 tonnes and it has ten landing wheels. Return to the skies? Concorde - Design Museum Concorde Posted March 19, 2015 -- Updated November 3 One of the best-loved engineering design projects of the 20th century Share > Concorde One of the best-loved engineering design projects of the 20th century, CONCORDE (1976-2003) is a rare example of successful international collaboration.

Its Anglo-French designers produced the world’s first supersonic commercial passenger aircraft which at its fastest flew from New York to London in less than three hours. When the British government established the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee in 1956 to explore the possibility of developing the world’s first passenger aircraft able to fly faster than the speed of sound, it could take as long as eighteen hours for a commercial jet to fly from London to New York. It was to take nearly twenty years for the committee’s work to culminate in the first commercial flight of a supersonic aircraft, but the subsequent performance of that jet, Concorde, exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. Routinely flying faster than twice the speed of sound, Concorde sported a take-off speed of 250 mph (400 kmph) and a cruising speed of 1,350 mph (2,160 kmph) at an altitude of up to 60,000 feet, twice the height of Mount Everest.

At its fastest on 7 February 1996, Concorde flew from New York to London in just 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds, less than a sixth of the time that the same journey would have taken by air in 1956. Hailed for its beauty as well as its speed, Concorde seemed to belong less to the modern world than to the future. During 27 years of commercial service from 1976 to 2003, it became one of the best-loved engineering design projects of the 20th century. An exemplar of technological excellence, Concorde struck such a strong emotional chord with the public that children cheered whenever they spotted it in the sky. Concorde was Britain and France’s response to the space race in which the US and the Soviet Union had battled for supremacy throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. Aircraft production had flourished during World War II, and in the late 1940s and 1950s many of the technologies developed for military use were adapted to make passenger aircraft faster and more powerful.

The next logical step was to develop a supersonic passenger aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound. The British government formed the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee in 1956 and the Bristol Aeroplane Company started work on the development of the Type 233 supersonic jet. The French were pursuing the same goal with Sud Aviation’s Super-Caravelle and, in 1962, the two countries decided to collaborate in the interests of efficiency and economy. The agreement was formalised as a treaty between the British and French governments, rather than a commercial contract. By this time both the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Sud Aviation had merged with other companies to become the British Aircraft Corporation and Aerospatiale respectively. The name Concorde was first used by President De Gaulle of France in 1963, and the British initially spelt it without an ‘e’. In 1967 Tony Benn, the minister for technology, announced that Britain would adopt the French spelling and squashed nationalistic protests by proclaiming that the ‘e’ stood for “excellence, England, Europe and entente (cordiale)?.

When an irate Scot wrote an angry letter demanding to know what ‘e’ represented to his country, Benn replied that it was ‘Ecosse’, the French word for Scotland. The technical challenges facing the British engineers at Filton, Gloucestershire and their French peers in Toulouse were immense, as were the political and economic problems that dogged the project from the start. When the collaboration began in 1962 Concorde was expected to cost between £150 and £170 million. The first prototype was scheduled to fly in late 1966 and the Certificate of Airworthiness to be issued at the end of 1969. France was to complete 60% of the work on the airframe and 40% of the engine, and Britain 40% of the airframe and 60% of the engine. In reality the project was so complex that it took much longer and cost far more. The radical implications of Concorde’s extraordinary speed for its weight, shape, noise and components meant that every element of its design was dramatically different from that of a conventional jet, as were the safety requirements.

An early design decision was that its wings should be a slender, swept-back triangular shape, rather than rectangular like a Boeing 747’s, to allow Concorde to move easily through the air at exceptionally high speed. These triangular or ‘delta’ wings not only optimised speed by reducing drag, but provided sufficient lift for take-off and landing at subsonic speed, and enough stability during flight to eradicate the need to install horizontal stabilisers on the tail. The shape of the wings had important implications for the design of one of Concorde’s most famous features – its long needle-shaped nose. A delta-winged aircraft has to take off and land at steeper angles than one with rectangular wings, and Concorde’s pilots would have been unable to see the runway if its nose had been conventional in shape. To resolve this and to maximise aerodynamic efficiency, Concorde’s nose was designed to tilt by 13 degrees. During flight the nose was raised, and when Concorde landed it was lowered to give the pilots an unobstructed view of the runway.

The problem of the noise emitted by the powerful engines developed for Concorde by Rolls-Royce in Britain and SNECMA in France proved less tractable. It was a struggle from the start to secure approval for Concorde to be permitted to fly to and from New York, and the noise issue meant that the number of airports where it was authorised to operate remained restricted. Similarly, Concorde’s development was marked by the struggle to squeeze in as many seats and as much cargo as possible, to optimise its potential for income generation, while minimising its size and weight. Made mostly from aluminium, the resulting aircraft was 203 feet 9 inches (62.1 metres) long, 37 feet 1 inch (11.3 metres) high with a wingspan of 83 feet 8 inches (25.5 metres). Concorde stretched between 6 and 10 inches during flight as the airframe heated – with the cabin becoming perceptibly warmer – even though it was coated in a white paint specially developed to dissipate the heat.

In an era when luxury was still equated with the grandeur of size, one of the most surprising elements to Concorde passengers was to discover that the cabin was so small, as were the seats. The cabin was only 1.8 metres high with space for just 100 seats – 40 in the front section and 60 in the rear – with no space for overhead storage, which meant that cabin baggage was tightly restricted. Each seat on Concorde was considerably narrower than its equivalent in the first and business class cabins of British Airways and Air France. As Concorde only flew during the day, its compact seats did not cause too much discomfort as passengers did not sleep on them overnight. Each of the four Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 engines produced 38,000 pounds of thrust. The most powerful pure jet engines in commercial flight, they used reheat technology to add fuel to the final stage of the journey, thereby providing extra power for take-off and for the transition to supersonic flight.

Part of the fun for Concorde passengers was hearing the pilot’s description of its progress during the flight as it gathered speed and gained height, eventually cruising at Mach 2, 1,350 mph or 2,160 kmph, twice the speed of sound, as high as 60,000 feet or twice the height of Mount Everest. Each Concorde had a range of 4,143 miles (6,667 km) and the capacity to carry 26,286 gallons (119,500 litres) of fuel. Typically it consumed some 5,638 gallons (25,629 litres) of fuel during each hour of flight. On 2 March 1969, Concorde 001 set off on its first test flight from Toulouse and the first supersonic flight was completed on 1 October that year. It then took another six years to secure the Certificate of Airworthiness. The testing of Concorde was unprecedented and is still unsurpassed today.

The prototype, pre-production and first production aircraft undertook 5,335 flight hours, some 2,000 of which were supersonic. As a result Concorde was submitted to four times as many tests as standard commercial aircraft. The delays and political problems – from successive changes of British governments, to the sustained disapproval of Britain’s principal ally, the US – contributed to an escalation of the development budget, which is believed to have reached to £1 billion by 1976, when Concorde finally began commercial flights. At the start of the Anglo-French collaboration, airlines from over a dozen countries had expressed interest in ordering Concorde, but by the end of its development only two remained, British Airways and Air France. Bookings opened for the first commercial supersonic flights on 14 October 1975. The British Airways Concorde flew from London to Bahrain on 21 January 1976 and the Air France Concorde from Paris from Rio de Janeiro.

As flights to New York were banned because of noise concerns, British Airways and Air France began Concorde’s US flights to Washington, but by late 1977 New York had succumbed by allowing Concorde to fly there. A total of 20 Concordes were constructed: six for development and 14 for commercial service. More than 2.5 million passengers flew supersonically on the British Airways Concorde alone between 1976 and 2003. A typical flight from London to New York was three hours and 20 minutes, compared with seven hours for a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. As Concorde flew twice as high as conventional long haul jets, turbulence was rare and passengers could see the curvature of the earth through the windows. Nicknamed ‘Big Bird’, Concorde was cherished as a national design treasure in both Britain and France, and was soon used for celebratory flypasts on special occasions. Concorde held the distinction of being the world’s safest working passenger aircraft until 25 July 2000 when Air France Flight 4590 crashed in France killing 113 people including all of the passengers and flight crew.

Air France suspended Concorde flights, as did British Airways. After an overhaul British Airways resumed flights on 11 September 2001. On the same day, the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed by terrorists. International travel declined steeply and the relaunched Concorde struggled financially. Another problem was that, as no supersonic competitors had emerged, there had been no pressure to upgrade Concorde or to invest in new suppliers and sub-contractors. As a result, maintenance costs had risen steadily and keeping Concorde in flight was increasingly expensive. On 10 April 2003, British Airways and Air France announced that they were withdrawing Concorde from service by the end of the year. On 24 October 2003 Concorde completed its final supersonic flight as the world’s fastest passenger aircraft. Timeline January 21, 1976: Concorde Enters Into Commercial Service - Airways Magazine Airways Magazine Back To Homepage Subscribe To RSS Feed Breaking News Report: United Rumored to Make Fleet Announcement Wednesday MIAMI — On Wednesday, United is set to hold its annual investor’s call to go over its 2016 performance.

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The Concorde, the supersonic jet, entered into commercial service with Air France and British Airways, starting a career that lasted 27 years. January 21, 1976: The Beginning on an Era Initially, as the Concorde was denied landing rights into the US due to environmental concerns and noise abatement protests, Air France opted to start service from Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar, while British Airways inaugurated the Concorde service from London to Bahrain, both flights took place on January 21, 1976. An Air France Concorde Overflying Rio de Janeiro (Credits: Chris Sloan) Despite the protests, the Concorde finally made its way into the United States and on May 24, 1976, both carriers began their first scheduled service to Washington D.C. The ban to New York continued until November 1977, when the Supreme Court of the United States declined to overturn a lower court’s ruling rejecting efforts by the Port Authority and a campaign led by politician Carol Berman to continue the ban. First flight to JFK Airport took place on November 22.

According to British Airways a typical London to New York crossing would take a little less than three and a half hours as opposed to about eight hours for a subsonic flight. The record for the fastest supersonic flight across the Atlantic by a civil aircraft is hold by Captain Leslie Scott and his crew, who on February 7, 1996, set the record at 2:52:59. British AIrways U.S. Concorde Launch Brochure. (Credits: Chris Sloan) Between 1979 and 1980, Braniff operated thru-plane service from Dallas/Ft. Worth to London and Paris using the Concordes belonging to Air France and British Airways. The aircraft would fly subsonic from DFW to Washington Dulles before continuing onto Europe at Mach 2. The service, largely a publicity gimmick, was discontinued in mid 1980 as Braniff’s fortunes began to crumble. The Concorde was never painted in Braniff colors, though it was operated by company cabin crews. Singapore Airlines also operated a similar service in conjunction with British Airways for a short time as well. Braniff Concorde Sales Brochure.

(Credits: Chris Sloan) Nevertheless, only 20 Concordes were built after the British and French governments joined together to develop the plane in the 1960s. The airline industry began to experience economic woes, partly due to the cost of fuel, and the appeal of the Concorde began to fade. A tragic crash in 2000 and the turbulent post 9/11 environment prompted to both operatores to retire the aircraft. On 24 October 2003, British Airways withdrew the Concorde, bringing to a close the world’s only supersonic passenger service. The final scheduled commercial flight was BA002 from JFK operated by G-BOAG. BA’s fleet of seven aircraft were subsequently dispersed for preservation at Barbados (AE), Edinburgh (AA), Filton (AF), Manchester (AC), New York (AD) and Seattle (AG) with one (AB) remaining at Heathrow. It is estimated that more than one million people have visited them over the past 12 years. Facts and Stats The Concorde was a joint program undertaken by the British and French governments.

It was designed and built jointly by the British Aircraft Corporation and Aerospatiale, and successfully completed her first supersonic flight on October 1, 1969; Concordes flew up to 11 miles high at the edge of space in the layers between the stratosphere and the ionosphere where the curvature of the earth could be seen; Due to the intense heat of the airframe, Concorde could stretch anywhere from six to 10 inches during flight. Every surface, even the windows, was warm to the touch by the end of the flight; As well as passengers, Concorde was sometimes used to transport human organs, diamonds and currency. Interestingly, plates to print The Economist weekly magazine in the United States, were also transported via Concorde, before that information could be transmitted via satellite. The menu on British Airways’ first commercial flight included: Champagne Dom Perignon 1969, caviar and lobster canapes, grilled fillet steak, palm heart salad with Roquefort dressing and fresh strawberries with double cream.

Customers were also offered Havana cigars; James Callaghan was the first British premier to go supersonic when he went to see President Carter in Washington, to negotiate landing rights for the aircraft in the US. A Personal Tribute Ahead of the 40th anniversary of Concorde’s first commercial flight, Captain Leslie Scott, former pilot of the world’s most iconic passenger jet, visited the New York-based British Airways Concorde (Alpha Delta – pictured) at Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum with some former colleagues. Following his walk-around, Captain Scott said: “I was delighted to visit Concorde again and share stories with the guys, all of whom I worked with at JFK. The Intrepid Museum is maintaining her really well, she’s looking good, even after 40 years! I’m really pleased customers still visit her and discover what a remarkable aircraft Concorde is”. Captain Leslie Scott (left) in the cockpit of G-BOAD (Credits: British Airways) While the retirement of Concorde was a sad day for all aviation enthusiasts, the aircraft has left a lasting legacy.

Not only can she still be visited, and admired, but the many advances that first allowed Concorde to fly have since found their way onto today’s aircraft. Concorde pioneered the use the use of composite materials, which now are the standard in modern airliners such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, and its high-pressure hydraulics, have been adapted for use in the world’s largest passenger aircraft: the Airbus A380. 16 Concorde maiden flight - Today in history - January 21: The Beach Boys and Patty Hearst - Pictures - CBS News Next Empire State Building - Air defense A crew of observers on the Empire State Building is shown during the air defense tests begun January 21, 1941 in New York by the U.S. Army. Their job is to spot "invading enemy" bombers and flash information to centers which order interceptor plane. The four day tests covered an 18,000-square-mile area in northeastern states.

Credit: John Lindsay/AP Princess Elizabethe christens plane Princess Elizabeth pours empire champagne over the nose of the British Overseas Airways Corporation flagship, "Elizabeth of England" during christening ceremonies at London Airport on January 21, 1947. The flagship is to fly the London-Montreal route. Credit: AP Alger Hiss Former State Department official Alger Hiss (L) and his wife, Priscilla, walk toward the entrance to the U.S. Courthouse in Foley Square, New York City as the jury deliberates on January 21, 1950. Hiss was found guilty on two perjury counts and sentenced to two concurrent five-year sentences. In 1948, Hiss was accused by the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) of having been a member of the Communist party and of having handed official documents to the Soviet Union. Hiss couldn't be charged with espionage because the statute of limitations had expired. Credit: Harry Harris/AP Bonzo the movie star chimp Bonzo, the movie star chimpanzee, makes like a director, sun glasses and all on January 21, 1951.

The educated simian is starring in a film entitled, appropriately, "Bedtime for Bonzo" in Hollywood. Credit: AP Elvis Presley becomes a corporal Elvis Presley, promoted to corporal on January 20, 1960 in Friedberg, Germany, where he leads a Jeep company in the 32nd American tank division, shows off his stripes on January 21 in his apartment in Bad Nauheim. Credit: AP "Robert Q" computer "Robert Q", a computer programmed to play chess, was beaten in its first competition with a human in the monthly Boylston Chess Club Tournament in Boston, January 21, 1967. The computer was at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., while Carl Wagner, its opponent, made his moves at the YMCU, several miles away in Boston. The moves were relayed into the computer by teletype. Operating "Robert Q" is Allen Moulton, seated foreground, of Cumberland, Md., and R. William Gosper, right rear, of Pennsauken, N.J. Credit: AP Colonel Sanders Col.

Harlan Sanders, who operates Kentucky Fried Chicken stands across the country, meets employees on a visit to the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, January 21, 1969. Sanders was in town for the company's convention. Credit: AP First Boeing 747 commercial flight A Pan Am Boeing 747 is seen just after landing at London's Heathrow airport, on January 21, 1970 after the first commercial flight for a 747. The Boeing 747, also called a "Jumbo Jet", entered service on January 21, 1970 on Pan Am's New York-London route. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the Everett assembly building before the world's press and representatives of the 26 airlines that had ordered the plane. Credit: -/AFP/Getty Images Gary Glitter British glam rock star Gary Glitter on January 21, 1973 in London. The disgraced rocker faced numerous charges for sex offenses, primarily paedophilia, starting in 1997 both in the UK and abroad, serving time in several cases.

Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images Concorde maiden flight Air France French-British supersonic jet-liner Concorde takes off on January 21, 1976 at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport for its first commercial flight to Rio de Janeiro. Concorde maiden passenger flights took place on January 21, 1976, with British Airways flying from London Heathrow to Bahrain and Air France from Paris to Rio. Credit: AFP/Getty Images Hostages released David Roeder shouts and waves as he arrives at Rhein-Main U.S. Air Force base in Frankfurt, West Germany from Algeria on January 21, 1981. He was among 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days after their capture at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The hostages were all released on January 20. Credit: AP The Beach Boys at Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame The Beach Boys hold their trophies after being inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in New York, January 21, 1988. From left are Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

Credit: Ron Frehm/AP Al & Tipper Gore rock out Vice President Al Gore plays the guitar as his wife Tipper dances during their visit to the Tennessee Inaugural Ball in Washington, January 21, 1993. Credit: Barry Thumma/AP Northridge earthquake A home in Pacific Palisades that fell down the side of a hill above Pacific Coast Highway is seen on January 21, 1994. The Northridge earthquake struck January 17, killing 57 people and injuring more than 5,000. Credit: Doug Pizac/AP Lorena Bobbitt Lorena Bobbitt confers with her attorney, James Lowe, after the jury asked two questions as they deliberated in her malicious wounding trial at the Prince William County Courthouse in Manassa, VA, January 21, 1994. Bobbitt faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted for cutting off her husband John's penis, which was later surgically re-attached. Lorena Bobbitt was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The couple divorced in 1995.

Credit: Pool/AFP/Getty Images Kobe earthquake A woman searches through the ashes of what once was her community January 21, 1995, in the Nagata area of Kobe, Japan. Nearly two-square blocks burnt to the ground in this single fire on the morning the earthquake struck January 17. The Kobe earthquake, the worst earthquake catastrophe in years, occurred on western Honshu Island. Up to 6,434 people lost their lives. Credit: Jonathan Utz/AFP/Getty Images Pinochet extradition demand Anti-Pinochet supporters demonstrate outside the House of Lords January 21, 1999 in London, as Amnesty International was due back in the House of Lords to restate its case for the extradition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to Spain to answer charges of crimes against humanity after his arrest British detention. Seven Law Lords were re-hearing arguments for and against Pinochet's claim of sovereign immunity to prosecution for crimes committed during the time he was in office -- 1973-1990. Pinochet's detention in London was the first time a former head of state was arrested based on universal jurisdiction.

Though extradition was decided upon, Pinochet ended up released on health grounds. Credit: Johnny Eggitt/AFP/Getty Images Patty Hearst pardoned President Bill Clinton pardoned Patty Hearst hours before he left office January 21, 2001. Hearst, who was kidnapped February 4, 1974 by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army, claimed she was brainwashed by her kidnappers into helping them rob a bank. This photo released by the FBI, taken from a security camera, shows Hearst, granddaughter of American tycoon Randolph Hearst, during a bank robbery in San Francisco April 17, 1974. Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images Happy 40th Birthday ... First British Airways commercial Concorde G-BOAA flight. The first commercial flights of Concorde took place on 21 January 1976. British... Airways flew their Concorde from Heathrow Airport to Bahrain, whilst Air France took-off from Paris to Rio de Janeiro simultaneously. British Airways Concorde flights from London to New York and back used the flight numbers BA001 to BA004.

Flight numbers BA001 and BA004 are now used from London City to JFK Services Airport. Keeping the Concorde Dream Alive Faster than a rifle bullet, chasing the sun, ten miles high at the edge of space life offered few greater thrills than flying supersonic Concorde. To feel the unbelievable surge of power on take-off. To see the sky turns deep blue with the view of the Worlds curvature. To sense the nudge in the back when the re-heats were lit to send her through the sound barrier and well beyond. To enjoy first-class-plus service, champagne and exclusively created cuisine as one travelled a mile every two-and-a-half seconds! She was sheer charisma and her stunning shape exuded spectacular, breath-taking grace and power - a shape that turned all heads skywards wherever she flew the world over. That she no longer flies is a matter of great sadness.

Everything we do with Concorde is dedicated to all whose work and lives were encompassed by the supersonic phenomenon that is Concorde - to the pioneer designers, engineers and aviators; to those who skilfully flew and maintained her during 27 years of airline service; to the passengers who benefitted from, or were simply thrilled by supersonic flight; to the countless millions who admired her, Concorde is jewel in the crown of Aviation, She and all those people will remain unforgettable. Photos Adrian Meredith.

Question: The first commercial Concorde flight from Paris to Rio de Janeiro took place in which year?
Answer: 1976